Human Parvovirus B19 Infection in Hospitalized Patients Suspected of Infection with Pathogenic Microorganism

Human parvovirus B19 (HPV B19) is a single-stranded DNA virus belonging to the genus Erythrovirus in the family Parvoviridae. It was first identified in blood donor serum by Cossart et al. in 1975 and has since been associated with infectious erythema, fetal edema, chronic pure red cell aplastic anemia, transient aplastic anemia crisis, acute encephalitis, and encephalopathy. HPV B19 can be transmitted through the respiratory tract, blood transfusion, and organ transplantation, among other routes. Kooistra et al. reported that 411 (6.323/100000) blood samples from 6.5 million healthy blood donors had HPV B19 DNA levels higher than 106 IU/mL , suggesting that HPV B19 may be latent in healthy people. When immunity is compromised, HPV B19 infection can result in serious clinical consequences. In the nervous system, symptoms primarily present as meningoencephalitis, and mostly in individual cases. The detection rate of HPV B19 infection among hospitalized patients suspected of infection with a pathogenic microorganism, especially those with severe disease or undergoing major surgery, remains unknown.